


The Comfort of Another

by enigmaticblue



Category: Eureka
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-22
Updated: 2010-07-22
Packaged: 2017-10-10 17:58:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/102510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jo still had keys to the sheriff's station, and that had always been where she'd gone to think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Comfort of Another

**Author's Note:**

> Written for week 2 of eureka_tag, for 4.02 "A New World"

Jo didn’t move as she heard the jingle of keys outside the door to the sheriff’s station. She heard Carter’s measured footsteps and the click of a switch being flipped.

 

“Jo?”

 

She sat behind her—no, Andy’s—desk, where she could see the jail cell. “Hey, Carter.”

 

“Hey.” Carter slid a hip onto the edge of the desk, perching just out of her line of sight. “Want to tell me what you’re doing here?”

 

“I still have keys,” she admitted. “And I used to come here to think.”

 

“You’re welcome to keep coming here.” Carter paused. “You want to talk about it?”

 

“Not really.”

 

Carter nodded, then followed her gaze to the cell. “I take it Zane hasn’t done anything to get himself locked back up.”

 

“Oh, he has,” Jo replied. “I just didn’t feel like dealing with him.”

 

Carter winced. “Yeah. You know, I can take care of him for you.”

 

Jo shook her head. “No, it’s fine. If I have to do something about him, I will.”

 

“Maybe you should tell him how you feel?” Jack suggested.

 

Jo stared at him, wondering if the time travel had sent him around the bend. “You’ve seen Zane, haven’t you? He hates me.”

 

“I’m sure he doesn’t—”

 

“He hates me,” Jo said flatly. “And he’s not the same man I loved. That’s the worst part, Carter. Zane isn’t the same guy.”

 

Carter stared off into the distance, his expression rueful. “No, he isn’t.” He stood. “Come on.”

 

“What?”

 

“Stand up, Jo.”

 

Jo eyed him warily as she rose from her—no, _Andy’s_—chair. “What do you want, Carter?”

 

“I’m going to give you a hug,” he replied. “Don’t hit me.”

 

Before she could protest, Carter had pulled her into a hug, the sort that reminded Jo of her brothers and home. She stood stiffly for a moment until Carter chuckled. “Take the hug, Josephina.”

 

She relaxed and hugged him back, taking the comfort that Carter offered. When he stepped back and offered her a smile, Jo managed to smile back. “I’m pretty sure Zoe would say that this is a situation that requires a milkshake,” Carter said. “You done here?”

 

Jo looked at the cell one last time and then straightened her shoulders. “Yeah. I think I’m done.”


End file.
